Jamie Dornan Reportedly A Favorite For ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ Role

Jamie Dornan may be getting the call to play Christian Grey in the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey.

After Charlie Hunnam backed out of the role, citing a busy schedule that didn’t leave him time to prepare for the role, speculation has spiked as to who might fill his shoes. Reports say that Universal Pictures and Focus Features may have their sights set on British television star Jamie Dornan.

Other stars in the running reportedly include fellow British actor Christian Cooke and True Blood actor Alexander Skarsgard, but the brunt of speculation appears to be on Dornan.

Dornan is known as much for his modeling work as his television roles. He is a former Calvin Klein model, and once dated Keira Knightley.

There are conflicting reports as to why Hunnam decided to back out of the role. Sources close to production say Hunnam, who is also a scriptwriter, wanted more control over revisions than the studio was willing to grant him. There were other conflicts with the creative team, sources say.

Others say Hunnam never actually intended to take the role.

“Charlie Hunnam was never going to do Fifty Shades Of Grey,” says one source close to the production. “He told his agents from the beginning he didn’t want to do it and was going to pull out.”

Some reports say Charlie Hunnam was worried about being pigeon-holed in the role the way Robert Pattinson was with the Twilight series.

Reports from the studio say that the film is still on schedule for its August 1, 2014 release date. Dakota Johnson is set in the role as Anastasia Steele.

There may be a hitch with Jamie Dornan taking the role, however. His wife, Amelia Warner, is pregnant.